personal education is key.
by seth fineberg
accounting firm operations and technology survey
for all of the talk of automation taking away basic accounting work and the bell tolling for any practitioner not moving toward more advisory work, the fact is compliance is not going away.
if anything, the evolution of technology has made compliance work easier – and i dare say more profitable – for particularly small accounting firms that rely on this work as an annuity, their “bread and butter” if you will. the point is, and particularly for the small firms that make up the majority of the accounting profession, compliance is not going away but it is evolving.
granted, it’s not all the profession is made up of, nor should it be for the future as, yes, business clients want and expect more but they still need it and done well and efficiently. this, i believe and have seen, is where technology does come in and needs to be embraced.
i just want to make it clear that in my time covering and observing the profession, the notion and message that firms need to move beyond compliance work or punch their card, as it were, is not holding much water. it may have even “scared” some firms into making automation or business structure moves they were not prepared to make, possibly even losing business, but this is only anecdotal. the point is, many small firms depend on compliance work each year and, in some aspects, it has improved.
take audit work, for example. long a staid, albeit arduous and even low-revenue but necessary client service, audit work (even small ones) can see a brighter future thanks to technology.
with the evolution of tools like machine learning and blockchain and the increased acceptance of cloud, audit may finally have the time that core accounting and bookkeeping has enjoyed with the aforementioned technologies. to that end, much like initial fears of cloud and automation in general taking over traditional accountant duties, there is some talk that blockchain and the modernization of audit could diminish the role of auditors. but, like compliance work in general, i think not. after all, did xbrl put auditors out of the job (as some predicted)?
that said, the answer here is not to move entirely out of your comfort zone (that does need to happen to some degree), but more education around
- how to evolve,
- which technology makes the most sense for a firm and
- how to get comfortable using it.
that is the key to advancing today, and tomorrow.
technology is currently outpacing the skills of many of today’s auditors and “traditional” accountants. and the fact remains that if there is an automation answer to a “real world” problem, there will be a developer to float it out to the market, even if they aren’t all “ready” for it.
so, for those of you out there “doing,” take some time to share your knowledge with those who aren’t, or are maybe feeling a bit behind. do this through thought leadership, social channels or even the vendors that you work with, allowing you to stay ahead. you’re still the minority, but that doesn’t mean you can’t educate the rest who could benefit from your experience.
seth fineberg is managing editor of accountingweb, an online community dedicated to inspiring and informing tax and accounting professionals. he has 26 years’ experience as a business/financial writer and editor, much of which was spent covering the accounting profession from a technology and practice management perspective. he spoken and moderated sessions at accounting industry conferences and was editor in chief of accounting technology and technology editor of accounting today.